Comic-Con Overview

1. I have entirely forgotten everything that was supposed to be an announcement made during panels I attended. Ex. Alexis Denisof (Wesley from Buffy) will be joining Dollhouse in season 2. Totally forgot that until I read it somewhere else. I’m a terrible reporter. Also, Aug. 21 will be known as “Avatar Day” (by whom? James Cameron?) and theatres will be screening 25min of the movie for free. Stuff like that.

2. Everything people said in guides and tip lists for the con were true. Showering during the four days is hard. People always ask stupid questions. You really do have to line up super early and stick to a single room if you want to see big panels. Now I know.

3. Seeing celebrities on stage is disappointingly similar to seeing them on a screen.

4. Meeting someone you adore is never as satisfying as you’d like it to be. You will not become best friends. They will give you an autograph, smile, crack a joke, perhaps, and then it’ll be someone else’s turn.

5. Comic-Con is a better experience if you’re a comic book fan. (Go figure.) Those people are more likely to get up close and personal with the writers and artists they admire.

6. If you like reading funny t-shirts, go to Comic-Con. I have never seen so many in one place.

7. You can tell when a celebrity really gets off on the crowd cheering for them. Most extreme case of this: Joshua Jackson. Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought so, either.

I’ll leave it at 7. I’m sure I’ll think of more later, though. All in all, the con was absolutely a worthwhile experience and I’m glad I went. Will I go again? I’m not sure about that. Considering the kinds of things I tend to like (with large fanbases and a bit mainstream), it may never be a very satisfying experience. I don’t really care for the fan-celebrity relationship that goes on here. You won’t see me screaming and cheering for a free t-shirt or a hug from Nathan Fillion.

Uh… but on a high note, I still do love the culture! I love that in almost every panel I went to, there was someone from the Jossverse (a.k.a. Whedonverse) and that mentioning Joss in any context anywhere at the con got huge cheers. And I love the geeky conversations you can hear while waiting in line (“I left for two weeks and when I got back my entire guild had disbanded!”). I love how downtown San Diego becomes a hotbed of geek activity during the con (one restaurant turned itself into the cafe, Cafe Diem, from the show Eureka, complete with life-size cardboard characters). All awesome. 🙂